A Future in Ancient History
by Kagehime3
Summary: An unexpected reunion with his lost sister, leads to an even more unexpected relationship with one of her closest friends. University AU. X Drake/Robin.
1. Chapter 1

_This fic is inspired by my buddy pineappleheadmarco on tumblr. It was just going to be a one shot, but I kept thinking of stuff, so it's going to be a short multi-chapter fic. For those that are reading Bloodstains, you probably know I ship X Drake and Robin now (still don't know how that happened, it just did), but I haven't had a solid idea to write for them until now. I'm also incorporating my crack family headcanon where Nami is Drake's biological sister, something I explain in this chapter while setting the stage for the Drobin ship. I figure, it's a modern AU, with a completely out of nowhere crack pairing, so why not include a crack siblingship, too. Hope you guys enjoy it. XD_

 _Disclaimer: I do not own One Piece or the characters, they belong to Eichiro Oda._

* * *

 _A Casual Introduction_

Diez Drake loved his job. There was no way he could ever imagine having a bad day when he spent all his time surrounded by dinosaur bones, lifelike models of prehistoric creatures, and researching new theories on the planet's ancient rulers. It was a kid's dream job.

He was able to travel the world, searching for clues to the world's prehistory. Nothing could beat that life.

The hardest part for him was teaching what he knew, but if he wanted to work in paleontology, he had to at least make an effort. He much preferred being in the lab or field, not in a classroom giving lectures to a couple hundred kids. He was at least lucky to have one of the few classes with regular attendance, but that was because he did what he could to keep the subject matter interesting. He even went so far as to bring in a miniature animatronic Tyrannosaurus Rex to walk around the lecture hall and shriek at students that looked to need a wake up.

On top of studying a subject he loved for a living, his job gave him the opportunity to build a relationship with family he thought was lost to him forever.

His kid sister had been a baby when war struck the area his father had been stationed. He had been thirteen at the time, and their family was full of love, even more so with the young girl his mother gave birth to. When war broke out, their family was torn apart, nothing was ever the same after. His mother died, and his sister was lost, presumed dead. His father went AWOL, abandoning the Navy in his grief, but took Drake with him as he pursued a criminal career selling illegal weapons. He wasn't his loving father after that, and Drake was forced to live a life filled with abuse as his drunken old man grew to resent him more and more each day.

He was going on twenty when his father died, shot down in a deal gone wrong, and Drake escaped to the safety of the military branch investigating him. It took years for him to overcome what his father did to him, years to mature and grow into a stable adult with a stable career.

And then he found her in the last place he expected to.

Nami took after their mother far more than their father. The only thing she shared with him was her ginger colored hair, and her tendency to run away when scared – a trait he especially struggled with when he was younger. She had some of their father's temper, and his high tolerance for liquor, but for the most part she was a happy and kind young woman, albeit a mischievous one with a penchant for stealing wallets.

In fact, she stole his before he realized who she was.

She had just transferred to the university he was employed with, pursuing her graduate studies in atmospheric sciences. He met her through a mutual friend of theirs; though Trafalgar Law would most likely not categorize Drake as one of his friends, acquaintance might be the closest he came. He stared at her in open shock when he heard her name, trying to convince himself that it was merely a coincidence, that she was some other Nami who just happened to have their mother's eyes and smile, and his red hair.

Law arranged for a blood test the very next day.

It turned out that Nami was found by their neighbor's daughter outside the ruins of their home. Nojiko wandered the streets with her until she found a soldier, a woman named Bellemere, who got them out of the country and adopted them. The adoption wasn't legal, there were no records of it, which would explain why he and his father never knew about it. If she had found them in a warzone and reported it properly, they would have first sought to locate surviving family before issuing out adoption papers.

For ten years she lived with Bellemere and Nojiko, a happy family, far away from the abuse he had to endure at their father's hands. He thought she was the lucky one until he found out about Arlong, the mobster who murdered her mother and took her into his gang. She had to live with her own abuse for eight years after that, but she survived and regained her freedom, found friends who loved her and supported her, and now she had him right there with them.

Getting close to her after twenty years apart wasn't easy, but they were trying.

Nami even came to visit him whenever she had a break in classes. It was the highlight of his day when he saw her.

"Drake!" He heard as he stood by the podium of the lecture hall at the end of his class, discussing a term paper with one of his students. He glanced up to see Nami at the back of the room, her long hair pulled back in two pigtails, and dressed comfortably in jeans and a tank top, waving down to him with a beaming grin. A woman was with her, long black hair swept up in a ponytail with strands hanging around her sharp face. She was dressed in fitted black slacks and a lavender dress shirt with glasses resting atop her head. She looked familiar, but he couldn't place if he had met her.

He waved to his sister, and then turned back to his student to finish their discussion. Nami leapt down the stadium room's stairs, her friend following behind at a more leisurely pace. She got to the bottom just as he finished talking to the student and sent her off.

"Nami," he greeted with a hint of a smile.

She snickered to herself in a way he was beginning to learn meant she was up to something, but he didn't think much of it as she surprised him with a hug. She was two feet shorter than him, her head just barely reaching the bottom of his sternum, and he imagined it was quite comical for her friend to see. It was probably especially amusing considering Nami did not lavish him with sisterly love, not when they were still getting to know each other, so he was caught off guard and only managed to awkwardly pat the top of her head to return the gesture.

The other woman was snickering behind her hand, and he tried not to look embarrassed as he swept a hand through his hair, just to the side of his tall faux-hawk.

"What are you doing here?" He asked, looking down at her with a gaze that said he meant 'What are you plotting?'

"I was visiting my friend," she explained, pulling away to gesture at the other woman. "This is Nico Robin. She just finished her doctoral work in archaeology and the university hired her as a professor." His eyes went wide at her name. It was far too famous within the world of scholars not to recognize. He had no idea the university had hired her. Nami didn't notice his reaction as she looked toward Robin, grin still plastered to her face. "Robin, this is my older brother Drake."

Robin nodded politely to him. "I've heard a great deal about you since Nami learned who you were. I'm happy you two found each other after all these years."

He glanced at the young woman beside him, shaking off his surprise to smile at her once more, and gave another pat to her head. "I'm quite lucky to have gotten her back," he said, his hand still atop Nami's head as he looked back to Robin. "And how did my sister become acquainted with an Ohara scholar?"

The other woman gave him a knowing smile, a subtle laugh in her tone as she answered. "We had a history course together, as well as an upper division geology course. I came to be fast friends with her and her roommates."

Nami's head shifted under his hand, and his eyes slid down to her, curious of her unwavering smile. "We were just about to get lunch together. Do you want to join us?"

His brow rose as he glanced between his sister and her friend. "Sure," he said, a hand hiding away in the pocket of his khakis, while the other gestured for them to lead the way. "I just need to grab Rex," he said, pointing toward his robotic dinosaur.

He heard Robin chuckle as he went to grab it from a row of seats, and held it up to show her. "He keeps the kids awake," he explained. The remote for the toy was in his pocket, and he subtly pressed the button that made it shriek.

"Quite clever, Drake-san," Robin laughed.

"Drake actually has one of the more popular classes for his department," Nami said, taking her friend by the arm to usher her up to the door. "I heard one of his students say he gives extra credit to anyone who has seen all the Jurassic Park movies."

"That's just a rumor," he frowned as he followed them outside. "At most I have a few test questions that reference the movies."

She tilted her head back to grin, while Robin chuckled.

"Which shirt do you have on today?" Nami asked cheekily, pointing to his navy blue button down shirt that hid the t-shirt he wore beneath. He sent her a withering glare, but she merely laughed, spinning to face him as she walked backwards. She wasn't going to give up until he told her.

"The new one for Jurassic World," he grumbled with a sigh.

"The grey one I got you?" She asked knowingly. He nodded and Nami grinned victoriously as she spun back around. "I knew it."

He sighed again and hung his head at her teasing.

"You really love dinosaurs," Robin stated, drawing his attention to her kinder smile. There was mirth in her eyes, but it wasn't like Nami's whose amusement was entirely from her successful attempts at embarrassing him.

"I wouldn't be in my field if I didn't," he said.

"True. It's important to be passionate about what you study," she nodded, slowing to walk beside him as they approached the University's Commons.

Nami went ahead to the door, and Drake grabbed it before it shut behind her, holding it open for Robin.

"I've heard about your studies in humanity's lost histories. One of my colleagues actually just read your paper on ancient, lost weapons. I've been meaning to read it." He commented, his sister leading them to a sandwich shop one of her friends worked at.

"Oh? Are you interested in ancient weaponry?" Robin's head cocked to the side as she looked up at him.

He shrugged. "Somewhat. While I was going through officer training, I had to take a number of courses on military history and weaponry, and the unit I was assigned to was heavily tied to weapons research. It's a fascinating subject, albeit worrisome with new technology."

She hummed thoughtfully. "It is, especially if you know anything about some of those lost weapons. I know the Government has been searching for them, hoping to harness them." He gave her a nod; he was all too aware of that. "What branch were you in?"

"I was a Rear-Admiral in the Navy, working under Admiral Kizaru."

Robin's brow rose, looking impressed as her lip curved in a smile. "When you have a chance to read my paper, we should discuss the subject more. I'd love to hear what you know on current weapons research and its ties to my studies."

"I'll take a look at it tonight," he nodded.

Her smile widened. "And of course I'd enjoy hearing about what drew you to Paleontology. It's quite a change from being a naval officer."

"Nami-swan! Robin-chan!" A voice interrupted as soon as they walked into the sandwich shop. Drake frowned at the blond waving behind the counter, a wide grin on his face that quickly vanished when he spotted the man with them. His nod was polite, but his enthusiasm was obviously lost. "Nami-san's brother."

He spared the man a short wave. A number of Nami's friends were still adjusting to his appearance in her life, and Sanji was especially curt with him, but he seemed worse with most every other man, so he was at least making an effort to be polite.

"I'll get my usual, Sanji-kun," Nami chirped, earning a wide grin from the blond.

"Of course. You too, Robin-chan?" He asked, glancing at the woman beside him.

"Please, and an iced tea."

Sanji looked toward Drake expectantly. "I'll have a Reuben, and iced tea, as well."

"Got it," Sanji nodded, and quickly rang them up. The girls weren't charged for their meals, which Drake had come to expect any time he had lunch with Nami at that particular shop when Sanji worked. Unfortunately Drake still had to pay for his food.

Both women ordered turkey clubs, Nami with extra mayo and tomatoes, while Robin got hers with a sweet vinaigrette dressing Sanji created for her, and once they had their meals, they took up a table toward the wall to eat. Drake sat beside his sister, Rex on the floor at his feet, listening to Nami talk excitedly with Robin about an upcoming research trip she was invited to attend with her professor for climatology research. She would be out at sea for a few months, studying the effects the changing climate and atmospheric conditions were having on the planet, namely its oceans. It was a good trip for her, combining both of her undergraduate fields of study – oceanography and atmospheric sciences.

"Oh?" Nami perked up as they were getting ready to leave. "I forgot to ask, Robin, what classes are you teaching?"

"An introductory archaeology course, another on ancient cities, and a prehistory course," she answered, looking at her watch. "And actually, I should get going. I have a class in a half an hour I need to finish preparing for."

"Of course! Thank you for having lunch with us. I'll call you later!" Nami waved as Robin turned toward the anthropology building.

Robin waved back, and sent Drake a warm smile. "And it was a pleasure meeting you, Drake-san. I look forward to talking to you again soon."

"Good luck with your class," he said with a nod and short wave.

Once Robin's back was turned, Drake let his hand fall atop his sister's head, forcing her to tilt it back to see his suspicious frown.

"I feel like you're up to something, Nami," he stated flatly.

"What makes you think that!?" She shrieked, aghast. "I just thought you two might get along since your fields are closely related, and with Robin just starting her career here, I figured it would be good for her to have a few friends among the professors."

"And that show of hugging me when you got to the classroom was because…?"

"I wanted to see how you'd react," she snickered and stuck her tongue out at him. "Purely for my own enjoyment." He rolled his eyes at her, but loosened his hold so she could jump away and spin to face him. She had a knowing glint to her eye that he didn't like. "But why do you think I'd be planning something by introducing you to my friend? I've introduced you to a lot of my friends." His frown deepened. He couldn't really say why he was suspicious, it was just a natural reaction to his little sister appearing to introduce her to a friend who happened to be a very attractive and intelligent woman. "Do you like her?" She asked in a sing-song tone that meant she wasn't referring to a platonic 'like'.

"I hardly know her," he glowered.

"Yeah, but you two were having a nice conversation on the way here," she pointed out to his narrowing eyes. "I swear," she defended his unspoken accusations with hands raised in the air, "I'm just helping her make a friend. You shouldn't be so suspicious of your baby sister."

He stared a moment longer, but relented with a heavy sigh. She had a point, he didn't know why he was reading so much into it. "Alright, I believe you."

"Good," she chirped, and suddenly she was wrapped around his arm, dragging him toward a smoothie shop. "As an apology for not trusting me, you can treat me to a smoothie." He sighed again, knowing there was no arguing with her, not when she had been nothing but a ghost to him for most of his life. "Oh, and can I come by to study at your place tonight? The guys have been playing a new video game nonstop this whole week, and the house is too noisy to concentrate."

"You're always welcome at my place," he nodded with a soft smile.

She smiled back up to him, and then turned to order her drink.

He realized later that he should have specified only she was welcome.

* * *

 _Oh, and for those wondering about Law being in this fic - I have no plans on actively shipping him with Nami. They will be very close friends, best bros and all that, and I will ship tease them quite a bit because I'm naturally biased. Eustass Kid will also be in this fic at points, and I'll be ship teasing him with Nami, too. Unless things go in that direction, I really do not intend to write any other ship in this fic since it is meant to focus on Drake and Robin. But this whole thing is unplanned, so who knows what will happen. XD_

 _And sorry this first chapter is short, and somewhat rushed, I'm trying to lay out groundwork since you all know I love slow burn romances (though no, this will be nowhere near as slow as my LawNa fics, I swear)._

 _This will be rated T for now because I don't think I'm capable of writing smut for this pairing yet. If that changes, I will warn you all. We'll see._


	2. Chapter 2

_This is a family oriented chapter to play with my crack sibling headcanon. Also I like describing houses, so I do that. Also LawNa ship teasing because I can. Also I like to imagine Drake in the shower a lot. So enjoy! :)_

 _Disclamier: I do not own One Piece or the characters, they belong to Eiichiro Oda._

* * *

 _A Newer Routine_

Drake pulled up to his house, tucked amongst tall pines at the base of a bluff, around eight that night. The front entry and driveway of the tan, two level stucco home was lit up to fight off the dark that settled at his end of the street. The lights, and the knowledge his sister was studying inside, was a comfort for him after a long day. For so long he had been coming home to an empty house, but now he had Nami's warm presence to welcome him on the nights she decided to spend at his place.

The basement guest room was already hers to use whenever she wanted a break from her five male roommates, and it was becoming a routine to have her over every other weekend for a movie night in the family room.

He pulled into the garage and climbed out of his navy blue truck, frowning at the black sedan parked to the far left side of his driveway. The white smiley face decal on the back window of the car told him who to expect to find inside with his sister that night. With a sigh, Drake turned to the door leading into the kitchen, hitting the button to close the garage up for the night. Nami's motorcycle was parked inside beside his truck, so it was safe to assume she might be planning to stay the night. He didn't mind, as long as her guest didn't crash on the couch in the basement again.

"I'm home," he called out as he kicked off his black boots by the door.

"Welcome home," a smooth voice greeted from the kitchen counter, and Drake turned to glower at his other guest.

Trafalgar Law, dressed comfortably in jeans and a black hoodie, was helping himself to a cup of coffee, the bags under his eyes showing his need for the caffeine. He sent Drake a lopsided grin as he replaced the coffee pot and turned to lean back against the dark granite counter, his legs crossed in front of him.

"How was work?" Law asked casually, as if it were perfectly normal for him to be there.

"Fine," Drake grunted and moved to walk by. "What are you doing here?"

"Studying with Nami-ya," he shrugged, and followed after Drake.

The kitchen had a small breakfast nook at one end that opened up to the living room. The room was large, with a vaulted ceiling and a wall of built-in shelves holding a small flat screen television at the center, around it sat pictures, decorative pieces he had collected on his travels, and a few plants to brighten up the neutral palette of the room. There was a couch that sat behind the kitchen's island counter where a large opening in the wall joined the two spaces. The sofa was more formal than the one in his media room, but the sage cushions were soft and cozy. A matching armchair sat to the left of the couch, Law's yellow and black backpack on the floor beside it, showing he had claimed the seat for himself. The large dark brown coffee table was covered with books, notes, and open take-out containers that the two appeared to be picking through as they studied.

He shouldn't have been so surprised to see Law there that night. The two had been study partners ever since they met in an upper division statistics class a few years earlier. While they didn't have any shared classes other than that one, they continued to study together. From what he understood, they kept in contact when Law left for his medical residency, studying together online until Nami transferred to the same university for her graduate program. Drake didn't really understand how they could study together with no shared field of interest, but somehow they made it work.

"Where is Nami?" Drake asked while Law fell back into the armchair.

"Changing downstairs," he answered as he set his cup of coffee on the end table between the couch and chair where a small lamp sat atop the surface. Law reached to pick up one of his textbooks while he set his feet on the coffee table, slouching down into his chair. "I think she's staying the night."

Drake nodded and began to head toward the office down the hall, to the side of the main entryway. "Are you two pulling an all-nighter?" he asked over his shoulder, dropping off his bag and heading back out to the living room.

"No, I have to be at the hospital first thing in the morning," Law answered.

Law had just begun the second year of his surgical residency. He was a genius in the field, ahead of most of his peers, and despite no longer having written exams and papers hanging over his head, he still studied almost obsessively to keep up with research and case presentations. Even with DEATH tattooed over his knuckles, not to mention the other tattoos on his hands and arms, everyone knew he was a talented and serious doctor who truly loved his field. He was deserving of some respect, but the young man was often arrogant and rude, sometimes downright cold to most people. Drake usually had to endure his arrogance and goading, which meant they were on generally civil terms that he would liken to a friendship of some sort, even if Law wouldn't.

"Drake!" Nami called out as she came upstairs, bright smile directed his way. "Welcome home!"

He nodded and gave her head a pat as she walked by to sit on the couch. She was dressed in green flannel shorts and a blue tank top, her hair tied in a messy bun. She had pink framed reading glass resting atop her head that she pulled down when she grabbed her notebook and settled back into her studying.

"I'll leave you two to your work," he said, turning toward the master bedroom just off the living room. "Make sure you clean up when you're done."

"We will," Nami answered while Law grunted noncommittally.

Shutting the door to his bedroom, he went over to his walk-in closet, shedding the blue button down he wore to work along the way, only leaving his new grey t-shirt on. Tossing the shirt into his hamper, he grabbed a pair of dark blue sweats, the word NAVY written down the right leg in white, to change into after a shower. His bedroom, like the living room, had vaulted ceilings making it feel more spacious than it already was. It was a requirement for his home to have tall ceilings in every room possible – being seven foot eight meant the average eight foot ceiling would be far too cramping for him.

His bathroom didn't have vaulted ceilings, but it was still ten feet, giving him ample space to breathe. He went in to take a quick shower and change, tying his damp hair back to keep it out of his eyes once done. He went back out to his bedroom to grab a black tank top from his bureau, decorated with a pack of Velociraptors running along the bottom of the shirt, and slipped it on, covering most of the large X tattooed over his chest.

"How am I supposed to know what's difficult and what's not!?" He heard Nami shriek from the living room as he ventured back out. "They're all hard to me!"

"You're asking basic first year anatomy questions," Law responded. "Even you know the answers to those."

"I never learned anything about arterial stenosis in anatomy!" Nami yelled.

Drake found her sitting in the middle of the couch, turned to face Law, legs crossed and notebook resting in her lap as she fumed at her friend. Law was still lounging in the armchair, head leaning on his fist and eyes shut, appearing bored with whatever he was having Nami quiz him on.

"Then you had a terrible anatomy professor," Law said flatly.

"I wasn't pre-med like you! You probably took a different anatomy class!" Nami said, ripping a piece of paper from her notebook to ball up and toss at Law's face.

Law's eyes snapped open and he grabbed the paper to throw back at her, the ball batted away easily with the notebook she held. "That's beside the point. You've been studying with me for two years, you should know better."

"You don't know anything about my atmospheric science material, you cannot expect me to know anything about your surgical studies!" She yelled back, this time a throw pillow tossed at him.

Law batted the pillow away and sat straight, his temper surprisingly thin. "I know enough to know what's easy!"

"Knowing the layers of the atmosphere does not count!"

"I know about barometric pressure!"

"Still doesn't count!

"Just ask me another question!"

"Fine!" Nami huffed, glaring at him before looking down at Law's notes. Drake shook his head and turned toward his office – he had lectures to prepare for and hopefully he'd have time to read Robin's paper. "A man is undergoing three-vessel coronary artery bypass grafting with replacement of the aortic valve. Multiple attempts to separate the patient from the heart-lung machine are – "

"Insert an intra-aortic balloon pump to increase coronary blood flow," Law interrupted with his answer. "That's still too easy, Nami-ya!"

"Well excuse me for not being a genius surgeon!"

Drake decided he would need to shut his office door at the rate they were going.

His office was built into the front corner of the house, large windows facing out to the front and side yard. He had a desk wrapping around the corner beneath the windows, a new desktop set up in the middle while his laptop for school sat open to his right so he could transfer files between the two. The wall opposite the desk was built with large, dark stained, oak bookshelves, filled with textbooks and research books on paleontology, history, biology and botany, military law and books on codes of conduct, and even a few books on politics. He had a few plants interspersed on the shelves, limbs dangling down over the books and the few dinosaur models he had as decoration. There was one shelf dedicated to displaying his military honors and medals. It was meticulously cleaned once a week, even if he retired while unhappy with the state of the Government and military.

He spent two hours going over his lecture slides, verifying his sources, and adding more notes to his presentations for the two classes and one lab he was teaching the next day. He kept a website and forum for his students through the university, giving them a place to go if they had questions or missed class and needed notes. That night it didn't have anyone checking in for help, so he only had to post an abridged version of the slides from that day so his students had a short copy to gloss over, even if it didn't include all the material he covered – they would have to see him if they wanted the rest.

He was leaning back in his chair, stretching his shoulders and taking off his glasses to rub his tired eyes, when the glass panel pocket doors to his office slid open. Slipping his glasses back on, he glowered at Law's cocky smirk as the resident surgeon leaned into the office, arms propped on the doors beside him. His backpack was slung over a shoulder; he looked to be on his way out.

"I heard you met Nico-ya today," he commented idly, and Drake's frown deepened.

"I did," he said as he slumped forward over his office computer again. Between Nami's strangely mischievous gaze and now Law's knowing smirk, he really didn't want to talk about his newest colleague with him.

Law chuckled, and Drake spared him a short glance. The other man didn't say any more, though his smirk was wider. The next moment Nami was in the door, wedging herself under one of Law's arms with a grin.

"Did you read Robin's paper yet?" She asked excitedly.

"I haven't had the time," he admitted with a sigh and turned back to his work as he listened to Nami's disappointed hum.

"Is it the one on the lost weapons?" Law asked.

"Yep," Nami answered.

"That was a good paper. Is she still planning to look for Pluton?"

"If the University is willing to give her the research grant, then that's her plan," Nami said, and Drake once more turned to the pair, intrigued with their conversation. "It sounds like they're inclined to hand over the funds barring she can come forward with a good research team."

"She should talk to Hawkins-ya, he seemed interested enough in her research," Law pointed out.

Drake sank back in his chair, left arm crossed over his chest while his right hand rested on his chin. She was planning an excavation? Did she already know where one of the ancient weapons was possibly located?

"I thought he was more interested in her cultural research? He's more into the lost religions and mythologies of the world. I know he was interested in Skypeia and the Shandians, but I didn't think he cared about the weapons," said Nami.

"True, but those weapons are connected to those old myths. He might be intrigued enough to join her team to look into the cultural connections with the weapons."

"I guess so, but I still think Drake would be a better fit for the team."

Drake perked up at the mention of his name. He had been half listening as he considered the implications of finding one of those weapons, just what the Government might gain if Robin located them. That was the threat she and Ohara had posed for so many years, the reason she was renowned for her work. She could be an asset or a threat to the Government with the knowledge she had. For now they were treating her as a benign researcher, but he knew they had to be keeping a close eye on what she did.

"Is that why you introduced us?" He asked, realization dawning on him. "You wanted me to look into her research and help?"

"Maybe," Nami smiled. "I know you love your dinosaurs, but I also know you have a moral concern over what the Government knows and is hiding, and even more so with those weapons. I thought she might be able to pick your brain for whatever insider information you had from your Navy days."

He frowned in thought. That was a far better reason to introduce them.

"And if you two got along…" Nami continued, trailing off with an unspoken hint. She and Law wore teasing smirks, it was frightening how similar they could be while also being completely different. He sent her an unamused look that she waved off. "I'm kidding, Drake."

He looked at the clock hanging on the wall to his right. It was already near eleven.

"I'll have to read her paper over lunch tomorrow," he said, standing from his chair with a tired groan. "It's getting too late now."

Nami nodded and turned to shove Law out, the young man glaring at her for it. She didn't pay the venomous look any mind as she continued to push him toward the front door. Drake followed them to see Law out, as well.

Law batted Nami's hands away from him once they reached the door, the girl giggling at his surely mood. "Stop being pushy," he reprimanded. His annoyance waned the next moment, and he reached out to ruffle her hair as he stepped outside. "I'll see you later," he said to Nami. He glanced back at Drake with a polite nod and wave in parting, and turned to walk down the front walk to his car in the driveway.

Nami shut the door on her friend and waited to hear his car start before flipping off the front lights, while he went to the living room to see that it was cleaned up. Save for a few of Nami's textbooks, the coffee table was cleared off, not a crumb left to know they were eating out there.

"The leftovers are in the fridge if you want some," Nami offered as she came into the living room after him.

"What did you get?" He asked, heading toward the kitchen. He hadn't eaten anything since lunch except for a bowl of instant noodles before his last class of the night, he was famished.

"Chicken tenders and fries," she answered while picking up her books, slipping them into her backpack.

Peeking in the container, he decided it was a better meal than he had before. He ate the last few pieces cold, too tired to care about heating it, and leaned over the counter to watch Nami finish putting her things away. She stopped to stretch her back and roll her neck.

"What time's your first class tomorrow?" He asked between bites.

"Ten," she said with a yawn. "I get to sleep in a little bit."

He nodded and popped a fry in his mouth. "I'll be out of here before eight. Help yourself to whatever you want for breakfast."

She smiled her thanks and surprised him as she slipped around the island, sneaking beneath his arm to wrap her arms around his waist. His brow rose at the hug, but he allowed himself to drape his arm around her shoulder to return it.

"I swear I'm not up to anything," she said.

"Uh-huh," he grunted, disbelieving. "Then what's with all the hugs today?"

She shrugged. "Just felt like giving you one," she said after a long moment. "I've been thinking a lot…" He looked down at her, curious as she trailed off with a frown. "I'm glad I got to meet you."

Eyes wide, he wasn't sure what to say at first, then with a chuckle, he shifted to wrap his other arm around her and pull her into a tighter hug. "Me too." He squeezed his arms around her until she shrieked. He gave her a lopsided smirk when she turned to frown up at him. "I still think you're up to something and no amount of sucking up to me will change that."

Nami's cheeks puffed at his accusation. "I'm helping you make more friends."

"I don't need your help."

"Then I'm helping Robin."

"I doubt she needs it, too."

She pouted at him, prompting him to sigh. He wondered if he would become immune to that look. He hoped so. If not, he might have to ask Law how he managed not to fall to that look when they argued.

"Go to bed," he said, releasing her and nudging her away. "I'll read over her paper tomorrow and talk to her about it."

Nami grinned victoriously and bounded off to her room, shouting "Good night!" over her shoulder.

Drake went back to the leftovers she gave him, shaking his head with a quiet laugh. He was never going to get used to having a sister around after so long without, but at least it made his life more interesting again.

* * *

 _ **A/N:** Nami with an older brother is just one of my favorite things to imagine, because she would torment the hell out of him and he wouldn't be able to do anything. And this fic is basically Nami's (and maybe Law's) payback for all the shipping Robin (and even Drake) has done in my other fics. Next chapter I'll go back to the Drake x Robin interaction. XD_


	3. Chapter 3

_This chapter is for dustail on tumblr because they gave me the first fanart for this story and I couldn't be more pleased by that. :)_

 _Disclaimer: I do not own One Piece or the characters, they belong to Eiichiro Oda._

* * *

 _Getting to Know Someone 101_

There was a particular coffee stand tucked into a corner in the basement of the University commons. Down the stairs, to the left, turn at the first corner, walk about twenty paces, pass the copy center, then two vacant shop spaces, and there it will be, hidden behind a pillar with only a cheap white banner reading _Coffee_ to indicate the plain counter built into the wall offered anything of value. The lights in that section of the basement were dim, there were no windows, and the only seating they had for customers were three tiny tables set on the opposite side of the hallway, each barely able to fit two people, covered with stains and chipped paint, and it took a great deal of luck to avoid the one wobbly table.

It was the best coffee on campus and for a fraction of the price of the chain café that leased a storefront right at the front entrance.

Classes began at eight for most, and the queue for the coffee stand began to wind its way down the hall by around seven. Professors and students a few years into their studies knew to arrive no later than six-thirty for that early morning latte if you wanted to get to class on time. The place only had two people on staff, so orders were made slower than the shop upstairs run by six people, but it was always worth the wait.

At quarter to seven, Drake had about fifteen people ahead of him, which was a relatively short wait compared to what he'd expect if he came even fifteen minutes later. Already seven newcomers had joined the queue behind him, and he had only been there for five minutes.

Just in front of him, his nose buried in a book on voodoo culture, was Basil Hawkins, head of the Anthropology Department, considered an expert on ancient cultural practices and religions. He was quiet, serious, and at times seemingly apathetic to everyone outside of himself. His courses, while heavily specialized and focused, were popular within his department, most likely because of the artifacts he brought.

Not many could say they had ever held a genuine shrunken head.

Hawkins dressed the part of eccentric cultural researcher with green and black plaid pants. A red swath of fabric around his waist, an end trailing down his left thigh, acted like a belt of sorts, though it really served no function other than decoration, while a gold chain hung around his hips, red crystal charms decorating it at intervals. He wore a simple white shirt, nearly always unbuttoned to his sternum to display the black cross tattooed at the base of his throat, with the sleeves rolled to his elbows. That day he had a dark purple trench coat on over his outfit to battle the early morning chill. Long blond hair fell in waves down his back, clean with not a single hair out of place. He was tall, though Drake still towered over him, the blond standing at six foot eleven.

"Nico Robin joined my department recently," Hawkins commented idly as he flipped a page of his book. Drake regarded him, a brow raised, but Basil's flat expression gave away no tells of his thoughts. He had three vertical lines tattooed over each brow on his forehead; they didn't twitch or bunch, not even when his red eyes slid toward his colleague. "Have you read her research?"

He frowned, wondering where the other man might be going with the conversation. He wasn't usually talkative, and far from the type to partake in idle chatter with people waiting in line. "I meant to read it last night, but I didn't have the time. My sister introduced us yesterday and thought I might be interested in her research on the lost weapons."

Hawkins nodded and turned back to his book. He was silent for a long minute, and most would think he had dismissed the conversation already, but Drake knew to wait. The line shuffled forward, Hawkins turned another page, and then he spoke again. "While it is not your specialty, your military experience and knowledge would prove advantageous to her further research. She has submitted a proposal for an exploratory excavation in a region known as Alabasta that the University is considering."

"So I've heard," he nodded and waited once more for his colleague to speak. They were tenth and eleventh in line as it continued to move forward, he should have plenty of time to get to his first lecture.

"I have recommended you for her team," Hawkins informed, lowering his book to give the conversation his whole attention. "Since you have already met, then that saves me the trouble of introducing you. Familiarize yourself with her research and get back to me within the week on your decision."

Drake's brow rose again. "You're pushing this forward rather quickly. She's only begun teaching here this semester and most professors have to wait years before they can jockey for a decent grant."

"Their research is not hers. I predict that what she finds will be a turning point for mankind and shed light on much of our world's oldest mysteries."

Law had mentioned that Hawkins might be curious about Robin's studies, and since Archaeology is a sub-discipline within Anthropology, it was no surprise that he would be aware of her research. Drake still hadn't expected him to take such a strong interest. He agreed with Nami that it wasn't Hawkins' typical field of interest, but it seemed he was more intrigued by ancient weapons than they both thought.

"Are you planning to be involved with the expedition, then?" Drake asked. They were fifth and sixth in line.

"I am considering it. There is a seventy percent probability she will unearth cultural evidence of the people who created the lost weapons. I am also curious of the poneglyphs she has found and the language they are written in. Nico Robin is the only person in the world known to be able to decipher them, and I wish to know more about what is written there."

Drake nodded in understanding as Hawkins returned to his book. "I'll think about it," he said after a moment, earning a short nod as answer.

At just past seven, Drake had his coffee – iced vanilla bean – and was heading down the hall when he spotted Robin. She had nearly twenty people queued before her, but she didn't appear fazed as she leaned against the wall, quietly reading a paperback novel to pass the time. She wore a light blue sweater dress with charcoal grey leggings and black knee high, suede boots that sported two inch heels. With the chill of the morning, she wore a navy blue wool coat over her outfit to keep warm. Her hair was swept to her right and loosely braided, a strand of black hair falling free on her left side that she idly pushed behind her ear as she read. With her hair secured, she adjusted her frameless glasses that had slipped down her nose.

The line began to move forward, prompting Robin to glance up and see him heading in her direction. She immediately smiled upon recognizing him, a finger tucked into her tome to hold her place as she lowered it to greet him.

"Drake-san," she nodded. "Good morning."

The corner of his lips lifted in a smirk when he came to a stop. "'Morning," he greeted in return.

"Early start today?" She asked, tilting her head toward his coffee.

"Intro to Paleontology lecture at eight," he said. "And you?"

"I have a course in lost languages and decipherment at nine. The assigned professor asked me to guest lecture for the next few days."

Drake took a sip of his coffee and hummed. "I was in line with Hawkins and we discussed your research. He mentioned you can decipher poneglyphs."

Her smile grew. "I can, and a number of other ancient languages. Did you have a chance to read my paper last night?"

"Unfortunately no," he said with a shake of his head. "I plan to read it over lunch today. Hawkins was quite adamant I look it over, and Nami was disappointed I didn't have the time last night. They both seem to think I would be a good candidate for your research team if you get that expedition grant."

"It would be helpful to have an experienced paleontologist on hand, especially one with some military background," she mused thoughtfully. She giggled quietly and gave him a knowing look. "It's a far better excuse for Nami introducing us, too."

"You were suspicious, too?" He chuckled. The line moved forward, and he took two steps backward to follow her.

"I'm afraid so. I thought it might be payback for the number of times I've teased her about her relationship with Tora-o." She snickered as his amusement fell, and he took another hasty step back when she moved with the line again.

"What relationship?" He asked, brow cocked as he remember Law's nickname used among Nami's group of friends.

"Don't worry. There's no need to act like the overprotective big brother. They were spending so much free time together for a while that I might have mentioned something to Nami about it. They are quite close, but I don't believe there is anything more than friendship between them."

He frowned at her explanation. "He was over studying with her last night," he muttered. Those two _were_ close, and had been growing _closer_.

"They understand each other, how the other thinks, most of the time. Similar experiences in life have only helped their bond." Robin's smile was sympathetic as she reached out to pat his forearm, comforting his worries. "I wouldn't worry about those two, except for what they might be plotting."

"Law does like to torment me any chance he gets," Drake sighed as she pulled away. "And Nami is… _Nami_." Robin chuckled, more than aware of what he meant. "I wouldn't be surprised if she's making up for all the years she couldn't be an annoying little sister." He shook his head to dispel his renewed suspicions, and glanced at his watch. "I'd better head off," he said, gesturing with his coffee toward the exit. "I need to get Rex prepared for class," he added with a smirk.

"I should drop by your class when I have time to see him in action," she laughed, the sound lilting and making his smile widen.

He tilted his head down, feeling strangely awkward. When he looked back up, her smile was warm and there was a glint in her eye that seemed teasing.

"I'll talk with you again, once I've read your paper," he finally said, waving as he headed off. She nodded and waved back. He turned away when her smile grew, but glanced back once he was a few yards away to see her return to reading her novel.

When he looked forward, he felt a chuckle well in his throat and couldn't seem to wipe away his smile.

* * *

"… The Archean Eon is the period where the planet began to stabilize and we see our first evidence of life…"

Robin stood just inside the door of the lecture hall, at the top of the pitched floor, sipping her vanilla latte as she listened to Drake's lecture. The hall was large, ten rows of seats rose to accommodate two hundred students, but the class looked to only have one hundred enrolled. Drake stood at the bottom, pacing in front of the center table and lectern where his computer sat, his lecture slides projected to the uppermost whiteboard while the lower held neatly sketched diagrams related to his topic on the natural timeline of the world.

Drake was dressed neatly that day, looking the part of a university professor. He wore a navy blue, cable knit sweater over a white dress shirt, cleanly pressed khaki pants, and dark brown dress boots. He had on thick framed, square shaped glasses that suited his bright blue eyes and triangular shaped face, as did his faux-hawk styled hair and thick side burns. What definitely did not look the part of a professor, at least by higher order academic standards, was the red tie peeking out from the collar of his sweater, spotted with Pterodactyls.

She couldn't blame Nami for teasing him, his was quite obsessed. She idly wondered if he had on a Jurassic Park t-shirt again.

"… The Eoarchean Era is the earliest time we find organic substances, namely kerogen consistent with photosynthesis, within graphite… In the Paleoarchean Era we find archaea and bacteria branching out…"

His lecture was basic, simple, an easy summary of the natural timeline of the world and life in it. Most of the subject material should have been covered in lower level courses, particularly their biology and geology courses, but it didn't hurt to do a quick review before delving into the grit of dating fossil records based on the organic elements found within. Robin had taken the course when she was an undergraduate and found it fascinating. She was more intrigued and knowledgeable in human prehistory, but the techniques paleontology taught related to fossil records, dating of organic substances, and the inclusion of geological events within the timeline were very useful in her field.

As interesting as she had found it when she was in her early twenties, she would have enjoyed it more if her professor kept everyone awake with a toy dinosaur.

Rex roared, an echoing electronic sound, at a student in the fifth row. She had watched when Drake took notice of the student nodding off with his head bowed and arms crossed, slumping down in his seat. He paused for a fleeting second in his lecture, just long enough for the alert students to take notice and look for the culprit while Drake took out his small remote control and directed his dinosaur up the stairs. Everyone laughed as the student jumped, Robin snickering behind her hand with them. He looked around bashfully until he saw Drake at the front, leaning back against the center table with his arms crossed and an amused smirk.

"I apologize for boring you," Drake said, his smile growing. His student slumped lower in embarrassment. "Please try to stay alert. Remember, you have your first exam in two weeks, and you need to understand this for your next lab section, as well." He addressed the whole class, using the single student as a reminder to all of them. "Now, where was I?" He hummed, glancing back at his projected slide to refresh his memory. "Right… The Mesoarchean Era, this is where we find photosynthesizing bacteria evolve, utilizing water as a reducing agent and producing oxygen as a waste product. Eventually oxygen levels rise in the atmosphere, which begins to poison a number of the bacteria…"

As Drake's lecture continued, his students eagerly took notes off of his neatly organized slides. Most of what he said was on the slides, providing a verbal and visual source for his students, but there were small asides, little facts and diagrams that weren't included. He covered the whole of the Archaean Eon, nothing more than a brief synopsis, and began to discuss the Proterozoic Eon and the first great extinction event before he ran out of time.

"Make sure you read up to chapter four in your textbooks for the next class," he called out as the students packed and prepared to shuffle out. "Your lab this week will cover evolution and the fossil record, and your TA's will be taking your assignments from last week, so see that you have them completed."

The students filed out, and Robin shifted to the side of the door, waiting for them to leave before heading off to her class. Drake spotted her, his eyes wide in surprise as she waved down to him. He blinked, clearing away his shock, and sent her a short wave in return. She wished she had time to stay and talk. While her walk to the anthropology building would only take a few minutes, and she still had ten before the class began, she didn't want to risk getting caught up in conversation.

She was just about to walk out the door, leaving him to clean up as the next professor came in to use the hall for their class, when she remembered an earlier curiosity.

"Drake-san," she called out, standing in the doorway. He glanced up, confused, and she chuckled quietly as she pointed at his shirt. "Which one are you wearing today?"

Her amusement grew as he gaped at her. It took a moment before he began to stammer something under his breath, his head turned down as he focused intently on tucking his computer away.

"I'm sorry, I didn't catch that," she snickered.

He frowned up at her with narrowed eyes. "Red Jurassic Park," he answered flatly. "Please do not pick up my sister's teasing."

She laughed lightly, but didn't respond as she slipped out with one more wave.

Unfortunately for him, a flustered and embarrassed Diez Drake was too cute not to tease.

* * *

 _A/N: Ah yes, a short, Drake and Robin centric chapter and I swear every time Drake describes Robin, he immediately develops a crush on her. I don't blame him, I would too, but it's very annoying, lol._

 _Oh, and to the reviewers who asked about Law and Robin in this- no, I will not be making the siblings. We know who Law's parents are, and we know who Robin's parents are (or at least her mother, and that her father died when she was young). Their backstories related to biological family are set and I have no interest in making them siblings, at all. To do so, I would have to do some major reworking of their family histories, and Robin's family history (namely the abuse she endured from her aunt, as well as the bullying she received from other children in Ohara) is vital to who she is and how she can bond with Drake (who also endured abuse from a family member- his father) so I will not change that to cater to a story line I have no interest in exploring. With Drake and Nami, I can work with the idea of them being related because we know literally nothing about Nami's biological family (all we know is her home was destroyed in a battle when she was a baby), and Drake's life prior to his father's piracy is a mystery save for what Oda mentioned in an SBS about Barrels' being a kind and caring father when he was a marine, but that changed when he left and became a pirate, otherwise we know nothing about his life and family then. Until Oda addresses Drake's backstory further, his family life is very flexible, unlike Law and Robin's._

 _And, for those unaware, who maybe haven't read other stories where I have addressed this issue- please do not tell me what to write, please do not make assumptions that I will write something you want to see just because you asked. I have a broad plan, plot ideas I want to address, and I do not want input on what else to include since it will only distract from my own intentions. I do not want to be the bad guy and tell you guys no when you ask for something (especially if you're a guest and I can't reply privately). It is a really big pet peeve of mine to have people attempt to dictate my writing. I want you all to enjoy the story I have planned out, but I want you to remember that this is my story, my idea, and I already know what I want to do with it. I apologize if this seems rude, but I need to state it before I get similar reviews because those requests really take away my interest in writing a fic and that becomes extremely frustrating._

 _Those wanting certain Nami ships to appear- you all know what I ship, so at least be content with the fact I will ship tease the hell out of her so everyone is at least moderately satisfied, but I still have zero intent in putting her in a set relationship with any one person. I will tease and hint, but that's it. Her ships will stay in the stories dedicated to them, this story is meant to focus on the Drake/Robin ship and my Drake/Nami crack sibling headcanon._

 _Thank you guys for reading, and I apologize for the ranting author's note, but I feel it best to voice my frustrations now rather than hold them in until I blow up and toss away the fic (like I have done with another fic in another fandom). And please be patient with me, I'm balancing three ongoing fics now, so I will be trying to rotate my updates around to keep things moving in a timely fashion._


	4. Chapter 4

_This chapter was hijacked by two idiots. I have no idea what happened to it. Oh well._

 _Disclaimer: I do not own One Piece or the characters, they belong to Eiichiro Oda._

* * *

 _Questionable Friendships_

After a long day at work, Drake just wanted to collapse in his family room and watch tv without anyone around to disturb him. There were no tests for him to grade, no papers to read. His classes for the next day were already prepared for, and he only had to throw his slides for the day up on the course website while hoping no one needed his help. He had a rare night free to relax. The last thing he wanted to see when he drove up to the house was Law's car parked out front, especially without Nami's bike around to act as an excuse for the doctor to be there.

"What are you doing?" Drake asked upon entering his kitchen to find Law at the stove, grilling two slices of fish, a pot of rice cooking on a back burner.

"Making dinner," Law answered with a smirk. "Welcome home."

"How did you even get in without Nami?" Drake sighed as he shuffled by to toss his bag on the couch in the living room.

"I have a key." That sardonic smile grew at Drake's exasperated look.

"I never gave you a key."

"No, but you didn't have to. I borrowed yours and made myself a copy."

"I'm changing my locks tomorrow," Drake groaned.

"Nami-ya taught me how to pick them." Law chuckled, turning over his fish in the pan. "That's how I got in to grab your key in the first place."

Drake wanted to strangle him until that damn grin was wiped from his face. He wished he could blame Nami for Law's constant presence, but that man delighted in driving him up a wall before she even came along. He had found ways to break into his home in the past, Nami apparently just made it easier, with less damage to the property.

"Maybe I should look into getting a guard dog," Drake mumbled to himself in thought. He grabbed his bag to take into his office, ignoring Law's amused chuckle behind him.

"Dogs like me," Law called out.

"I've always wanted my own T-Rex," he mused, coming back to the kitchen to find dinner for himself. "Maybe I should do some research into that."

"I believe your favorite movies have clearly spelled out exactly why that would be a _bad_ idea," Law laughed. "I'd be more than happy to help with the genetic research."

Drake knew well enough that Law was entirely serious in his offer. The reasons, though, sent a shiver down Drake's spine.

"You just want to unleash a pack of uncontrollable, carnivorous monsters onto the world to see what would happen."

"Pretty much," the doctor grinned.

Drake decided it best to ignore his friend's more twisted inclinations and desires to create mass chaos and hysteria in the world. For someone who dedicated his life to saving other people's lives, he had startlingly dangerous thoughts.

"Where's Nami?" Drake asked as he pulled a package of ground beef from the fridge. Burgers sounded good for dinner.

"Class. She should be here soon," Law answered while dishing out his meal.

"And you couldn't just wait for her at your own place?" He shouldered Law out of the way to put a new pan on the stove.

He ignored Law's surly glare. The doctor took a seat at the dinette table, annoyance not fading. "My roommate kept yammering on about something… I think his friend broke his favorite vase. I don't know, I stopped listening the moment he shoved a rose in my face and left when his back was turned."

"You really need to stop doing that."

"Doing what?"

"The Batman disappearing act. It's annoying."

"To you," Law chuckled as he shoved a piece of fish and rice into his mouth, his cheek puffing with the food as he spoke. "I find it hilarious."

"Of course you do," Drake sighed.

While his pan heated, Drake flattened the beef into burger patties, sliced lettuce, tomato, and onions, and pulled out the package of buns from the breadbox next to the fridge. He stared at one of the buns and for a split second he thought to shove it in Law's mouth. It might deter him from inviting himself over.

"Don't even think about it," Law growled as he came into the kitchen with his finished plate, setting it into the sink. The doctor shot him a hard look of warning and glanced at the bread Drake held in his hand. "I'll make your life a living hell."

"You already do," he reminded. "I have nothing to lose."

"Your hand."

Drake's gaze went to the ceiling, feigning thought, and then glanced back at Law with a shrug and crooked smirk. "Worth the risk."

They stared in a silent standoff for a minute, Drake not moving an inch as he watched Law war with his pride. He could gloat for the rest of the night when the doctor hissed in annoyance, spun on his heel, and retreated to the living room, muttering "Dick" under his breath just loud enough for Drake to hear. It wasn't often he won against Law, but he savored those times he did.

A few minutes later, he was sliding his cooked burger patties onto the buns when the doorbell rang. He wasn't expecting anyone, save for Nami, but she had a key. And as Law had pointed out, even if she didn't, she wouldn't need to ring the bell.

"Can you get that?" He called out to Law, realizing too late it was futile.

The young man was playing with his smartphone in the living room and didn't even bother to look up when he called back. "It's rude to make your guests answer the door."

"You're a nuisance, not a guest," he huffed, wiping his hands on a towel as he walked through the living room. He threw the towel at Law's face, smirking at the doctor's annoyed growl as he balled it up and tossed it back.

He froze the moment he swung the door open.

Waiting on his front step was a man about a foot shorter than him, with crimson red hair and a permanent scowl on maroon painted lips. He wore baggy black cargo pants, a silver chain of skulls hanging over his right hip, scuffed black combat boots, and a dark blue tank top decorated with brown skulls piled on the left side, what appeared to be a pool of blood spreading out beneath them. His hair was held back by a black headband, studded with yet more silver skulls.

And he thought a surgeon tattooing DEATH over his knuckles was creepy.

"Yo," the guy grunted, a hand shoved in his pocket while the other shouldered a tattered brown backpack. "Nami around?"

Drake blinked and then frowned. Was his sister collecting delinquents?

"And you are?" Drake's brow raised as he stared down the other man. While he was large and muscular, Drake still towered over him. He was pretty sure the difference in height wouldn't matter much if the guy wanted in, but he hoped it was at least enough to intimidate him.

It wasn't.

"Kid. I'm a friend." He grunted, peeking around Drake to look in the house. "She told me to meet her here."

"I think calling yourself a friend is being quite generous Eustass-ya," Law chuckled as he snuck up behind him. Drake looked back to see his sadistically amused grin. Law's gaze drifted away from the unexpected guest to Drake, grin widening. "Stalker is more accurate."

"Oi! Trafalgar you asshole! Say that to my fucking face!" Kid shouted, preparing to barrel in at the insult.

Law merely held up his middle finger, chuckling darkly to himself.

"Drake-ya, it would be in Nami-ya's best interest not to let that cretin into your home."

Drake was inclined to agree for once, turned back to the man fuming on his front stoop, and slammed the door shut in his face.

"Fucking assholes!" Kid shouted from the front. Drake heard the distant purr of Nami's motorcycle coming down the street, and listened as Kid hollered at her, walking out into the middle of the yard. "Yer brother's a fucking prick, Nami!"

Drake ignored the outburst and went back to the kitchen. Law followed behind him, taking a seat on one of the counters to wait for Nami and her guest to come in.

"Drake!" Nami called out as she threw the door to the garage open, Kid growling obscenities under his breath behind her. "Did you slam the door in Kid's face?"

He spared her a blank look and then went back to putting his dinner together, dumping out potato chips to the side of his two burgers. He chose not to answer, listening as she stomped through the room to where Law sat, smacking him hard on the shoulder.

"And you! Don't encourage him!" She lectured, ignoring the sharp glare her friend sent.

"Drake-ya was merely being responsible and trying to protect his baby sister from a dangerous thug," Law pointed out, annoyance waning.

Drake took a seat at the dinette, snorting in amusement at the doctor seemingly coming to his defense. He wasn't an idiot, he knew the only reason Law was on his side was because he obviously enjoyed tormenting Kid more.

"One of these days I'm gonna punch that smug grin off your face, Trafalgar," Kid growled.

"I'd like to see you try, Eustass-ya," Law said with a mocking grin. "I'll kill you before your fist can even tap me."

The other man sneered and took a step toward Law, his hand balled in a fist at his side. Drake actually thought to be worried, but Law didn't appear fazed in the least with the threat in front of him.

"Kid! Back down!" Nami ordered sharply, hands on the large man's chest to hold him off. She wasn't bothered when he snarled at her, and glanced at Law in warning. "You two play nice."

"This is what happens when you befriend a rabid dog, Nami-ya," Law glowered.

"I thought you said dogs like you," Drake remarked, smirking when Law frowned at him. "Maybe I should have let him in. He might be able to keep you out."

"You're going to regret saying that," Law muttered.

Drake ignored him and turned to his sister. "So? What's this guy doing here?"

"He's helping me study for my physics exam," she answered while giving Kid a hard shove when he wouldn't stop growling at Law.

" _He's_ helping _you_ study?" Drake's brow rose as he looked to Law to see if he had heard right. The doctor shrugged unhelpfully.

"What the fuck's that supposed to mean?" Kid growled.

"Kid's working on his Master's in Engineering. He's one of Franky's top students," Nami explained, resting a hand on Kid's arm to keep him calm. "He looks like an idiot – "

"Oi!" Kid interrupted.

Nami pat his arm. " – but he's actually pretty smart… sometimes."

"Sometimes!? Just for that, I'll fuckin' charge ya for helping!"

"No you won't," she waved him off breezily. "Drake has beer in the fridge."

"Don't give away my stuff as payment," he huffed at his sister. It was pointless as Kid immediately went to help himself to a bottle.

"Got anythin' to eat? I'm starvin'." Kid asked, pushing food around in the refrigerator as if he owned it.

Drake sighed in defeat and turned back to his meal.

"I'll order take-out in a minute," Nami said, heading toward the basement stairs. "Come on, we'll study downstairs."

"I was going to watch a movie tonight," Drake informed.

She spun away from the stairs and tossed her bag on the living room couch. "Nevermind. We'll take the living room," she said, surprising him with her easy agreement.

Drake glowered at Kid as he walked by, tilting back his bottle of beer. When he caught his stare, Kid's eyes narrowed as he pulled the bottle away to sneer.

"Kid!" Nami shouted in warning.

Kid huffed, shot one more glare at Drake, and then helped himself to a potato chip. He bit down with a smug grin.

"Told you," Law said quietly as he slipped off the counter to follow the other two. "Eustass-ya is just an ill-mannered mutt. You definitely shouldn't have let him in."

Drake heaved another deep sigh.

"Oi! Trafalgar! What the fuck did you just call me!?"

"An ill-mannered mutt. Be flattered. I could have been honest and called you a piece of shit."

"That's it! Yer dead!"

"Will you two stop it! You're both complete idiots!"

Drake just wanted one peaceful night in his own home. Just one. Was that too much to ask?

* * *

He didn't know how Nami could constitute what they were doing as studying. It looked more like attempted murder when he came up from the basement to grab a drink.

"I'll fucking kill you!" Kid shouted from where he tackled Law to the floor.

Law was all grins as he shoved his hand into Kid's face. "I'm flattered, Eustass-ya, but you're not my type."

Kid actually threw his head back and laughed, then threw a punch, Law tilting his head to dodge. "Yer one creepy bastard."

"So I've been told," Law chuckled, raising a hand to block another strike and shifting to kick hard at Kid's stomach, the hit barely knocking the wind out of the larger man. "Nami-ya, please call your mutt off."

"Fucking prick! Stop calling me that!"

Nami released a heavy sigh, her attention remaining glued to her physics textbook. She had given up on controlling them.

Drake stood back in the kitchen watching the scene. He felt exhausted after only a minute, he could only imagine how his sister was putting up with it after two hours. He heard the occasional shout while he was downstairs, a few thumps and bangs that he hoped didn't result in broken furniture, so he knew this was far from the first scuffle between the two men.

"Drake-ya," Law chuckled, angling his head toward the kitchen. He dodged another punch with ease. "Do you have a spray bottle with vinegar in it? I've been told it's useful in dog training."

Kid growled, grasped Law by the collar of his shirt, lifted him a few inches off the ground, and slammed him back down. Law didn't appear to care in the least.

"Maybe if you kept that smart mouth of yours shut, he wouldn't be inclined to attack," Drake pointed out.

"I keep telling him that." Nami sighed, turning a page in her book. "He doesn't listen. He's worse than Luffy."

"Heh," Kid laughed, "at least common sense runs in their family. Must've lost that trait somewhere in yours, Trafalgar."

Drake's eyes widened, and Nami's attention shot up from her book. That wasn't a smart thing to say.

Law's amusement vanished into a dark glare and without warning, his fist collided with Kid's jaw. Hooking a leg around the larger man's, the doctor managed to flip their position and threw another punch. Kid was prepared this time, grinning maniacally as he caught Law's fist.

"Oh, I hit a sore spot," he chuckled.

Drake knew he would have to intervene now, and moved toward the men struggling on the floor. He grasped Law by the collar of his shirt, tugging him off easily. "No bloodshed in my house," he lectured.

Law fought against his hold, growling at the man laughing on the floor. "Just let me kill him."

"No," Drake said, dragging him toward the stairs. "Since I doubt you'll leave of your own free will, you can watch a movie with me." Law thrashed as he pulled along, sneering. "I have _The Dark Knight_ on blu-ray."

Law settled instantly.

"That's right. Go cryin' to yer mo– " Kid's insult was cut off by a high heeled foot slamming into the side of his head.

"That's enough, Kid." Nami lectured. "We're supposed to be studying. I will not fail this exam because you two can't stop goading each other every five minutes."

Kid growled at her, rubbing the newest bruise. She glared, pointed to the couch, brooking no argument from him, and Kid picked himself up with a grumbled string of curses.

"He started it," he muttered, sounding like a petulant child.

"And now we've ended it," she snapped. She turned to Drake with a huff, and glared at Law when she caught him flipping his middle finger at Kid. The other man threw a pillow from the couch in retaliation, and Nami slumped where she stood with a sigh.

"Don't worry, I'll get him out of your hair." Drake smiled sympathetically and shifted to grab Law by the arm, hauling him to his feet so he could shove him toward the basement. "Let's go."

"Thanks, Drake," she sighed again, this time relieved as Law jogged down the stairs ahead of him.

He headed back to the kitchen to grab his forgotten can of soda and get another for Law. As he passed by Nami, she heading back to the couch, he gave her a pat on the head. "Holler if you need anything," he said quietly. She nodded, and he pat her head one last time and returned to his movie night in the family room.

"Do you really think it's a good idea leaving her alone with him?" Law asked when he got downstairs. He was lazily sprawled in the corner of the blue wrap-around sofa, a foot propped on the coffee table. Drake looked at him questioningly, can of soda held out for him to take. "A big, heavy drinking red head with a violent temper? Sound familiar?"

Drake frowned as an image of his father came to the forefront of his mind. Law had a point.

"Nami's an adult," he reasoned, falling back onto the sofa. "They're just studying."

"Nami-ya's studying," Law nodded. "Eustass-ya's peeking down her shirt. Why do you think I keep pissing him off?"

He glanced at the younger man, eyes narrowed thoughtfully. "Please don't tell me you're interested in my sister."

Law stared for a moment, expression blank. "If I were you, I wouldn't leave them alone for a second." Drake didn't miss the lack of response to his comment. Law didn't appear willing to ease those concerns. "Don't say I didn't warn you. Eustass-ya is a dog in more ways than one."

Drake turned toward the large flat screen, frown deepening. He stood abruptly, ignoring Law's knowing chuckling as he turned toward the stairs.

"I'm going to make popcorn," he explained.

"Go easy on the salt," Law called out.

Nami was a twenty year old woman. She was intelligent and responsible. Sure, she had questionable friends, but so did he. Not only that, he had been absent from her life since she was a baby, it wasn't his place to oversee how she lived her adult life.

She was just studying with a peer. A peer who happened to look like he could be in a gang. But Nami was perfectly capable of taking care of herself. He didn't need to worry one bit.

Chances were Law was just screwing with his head, anyway. He did that, after all.

Except when he reached the top of the stairs, he found Kid sitting beside Nami, far closer than Drake felt he needed to be, with his left arm draped behind her on the back of the couch while his right hand pointed at the text book and notes she had in her lap. He paused to close his eyes, hoping when he opened them again he'd find that he was merely seeing things, that it was just Law's comments playing with his mind.

He wasn't.

"Alright, so this integration here," Kid was explaining, snatching the pen from Nami's hand to scribble something in her notebook. "This is how ya do it analytically…"

"Okay…" Nami nodded, watching what he was writing out.

"Then rewrite for linear space like this…"

Nami nodded again, attention rapt.

"And if we add another plate…"

"You can mesh them together, right?" She asked, looking up at Kid. "And get a larger matrix?"

Kid grinned, his arm on the back of the couch shifted until his hand was resting atop her head. Drake frowned at the scene.

"Smarty-pants," he chuckled. "That's one way. But you can also use image theory, just change the Green's function to take the ground plane into account… You'll end up with the same number of unknowns, but it's usually a better route to take."

"Got it," Nami nodded, and turned back to her notes. Kid's hand fell away, innocuously resting on the back of the couch as he watched her work.

He finally found the will to walk through the living room to the kitchen, drawing their attention from their studies.

"Forget something?" Nami asked innocently while Kid's eyes narrowed on him, suspicious and filled with dislike. Apparently he wasn't going to let go of having the door shut in his face.

"Popcorn," Drake answered. "What are you two studying again? Physics?"

"Yep, specifically advanced electromagnetism," his sister chirped. "Kid's area of expertise."

The young man's ire vanished as he grinned down at Nami. "Heh, suck up. Ya still gotta make up for that shithead brother of yours slamming the door in my face, and Trafalgar being an asshole."

She slammed her elbow into his side. "Don't call Drake a shithead. I would have done the same thing if I were in his shoes."

Kid slumped over beside her, nursing his ribs. He growled "Fucking bitch" and earned another bruised rib for it.

He was right – Nami could handle herself.

"What do you need to need to study electromagnetism for?" Drake asked as he waited for his popcorn to pop.

Nami turned to kneel on the couch, leaning over the counter behind the couch. "Atmospheric sciences. I don't need to understand it at the level Kid does, but I do need to have a little more than a basic understanding when it comes to applied research," she explained. She slumped down on the granite counter with a disgruntled sigh. "It involves so much calculus it makes my head spin, though."

"I know you can handle it," he encouraged, reaching out to squeeze her arm. He chuckled at her sullen pout and squeezed again. "If you need a break, then come down and watch a movie with us."

She hummed, turning to the man beside her. "I don't think I can cram anything more into my head tonight, Kid. So, what do you say?"

"Movie sounds good to me, Kitten," he shrugged, getting up to kneel beside her.

Drake glowered at him. He was hoping the other guy would leave, not join them, especially not if he and Law would end up at each other's throats again. He also wasn't sure what to make of the nickname. "Kitten?"

Kid chuckled, a finger pointed at a grinning Nami. "Cat-thief. She stole my wallet once."

He couldn't help but snort in amusement. "Mine, too." If it was possible, Nami's grin only got wider. "Alright," Drake sighed, pointing at Kid in warning, "but no more fights with Law."

"If that asshole will keep his mouth shut, then I'll be on my best behavior."

"They _can_ get along," Nami explained. "When they _want_ to."

"I'm going to regret this," Drake said with another heavy sigh, nodding toward the basement. Kid leapt up, and grabbed Nami by the arm. Her shriek was ignored as he dragged her to the stairs, eager to end their studying. "You and Law sit on opposite ends of the couch," Drake called out. A hand waved back and they disappeared down the stairs.

Drake sighed one more time. "I'm definitely going to regret this."

* * *

It was getting late, nearing midnight, and Drake desperately wanted to go to bed. But they were arguing… _again_.

"I want to watch the whole Nolan trilogy," Law said, glaring across Drake and Nami to the other end of the couch.

"Fuck that. You always want to watch that. I want to watch Iron Man." Kid growled from where he sat beside Nami.

"And you always want to watch that."

"'Cause it's actually good, unlike the crap you like."

"Are you trying to talk shit about Batman?"

"Damn right I am. Guess I can see why ya got a boner for him. He's as creepy as you."

"And I can see why you like Iron Man. He's rich, smart, and good with women – everything you're _not_."

"Fuck you, I'm smart, and I do just fine when it comes to gettin' laid…" He trailed off into a wide grin, gaze turning to Nami She was leaning against Drake, fingers rubbing her eyes in exhaustion over their fight, while Drake propped his head up with a fist, sighing after each verbal spar. "Ain't that right, Kitten?"

Nami's foot flew into Kid's side while Drake turned to glare at the younger man. "Don't imply gross things like that!"

"I see," Law chuckled. "You are quite charming and irresistible."

Kid sneered, nursing his latest bruised rib.

"I have an idea," Drake interjected before they could descend into another pointless argument. Everyone turned to him. "How about you two go home?"

"Nah, I'm good here," Law answered, slumping into his corner of the couch.

"Same, but we're watching Iron Man," Kid stated, ignoring as brother and sister sighed simultaneously.

"You both can't sleep on my couch," Drake muttered.

"Alright, then I'll sleep with your sister," Kid grinned, earning another kick to the ribs while Nami scrambled over Drake to sit between he and Law. Drake's glare was deadly cold as his sister burrowed herself against him, pulling his arm in front of her to act as a shield. Kid coughed, growling at the woman. "It was a fucking joke."

"My, Eustass-ya. Your wit and charm are certainly irresistible. Just look at how Nami-ya swoons for you." Law grinned.

"Shove it, Trafalgar," Kid snapped. Law's middle finger went up in his preferred response.

"That's it. Both of you are leaving." Nami cut in before their verbal shots could turn physical again. "I'm tired of you idiots snapping at each other."

"Tsh," Kid hissed. Law glowered at her.

"If you two want to keep this up, then take it elsewhere. I want to go to bed." Drake added his agreement. Their glares turned on him, but he held his ground and pointed to the stairs. "Get out of my house."

There was a mixture of grumbles and hisses directed at him, but the two men grudgingly got up to leave. Drake stood to escort them upstairs. It took a few minutes, and numerous petty spats, but peace was restored to his home as he shut the front door behind them. A heavy sigh escaped, and his head fell against the etched glass window of his front door.

"Sorry," Nami spoke up behind him, drawing his attention to see her pouting sullenly at him.

He sighed again. "Are all your friends exhausting?"

"Unfortunately…" She trailed off into a shrug and tired smirk. "Well, at least all the guys are. Robin's really easy to get along with."

He narrowed his eyes, and her hands raised defensively.

"Just idle commentary! I am not suggesting anything!" She exclaimed. "You need to stop being so suspicious of me."

Stifling his next sigh, he nodded and went to wrap his arm around her head, playfully drawing her against his side. "I believe you. That does remind me, I read her paper today. I get the feeling she's not as interested in the lost ancient weapons as she claims to be."

Nami hummed while poking at his ribs in a vain attempt to free herself from his hold. "Not really. Of course they're important to her. She knows if they fall into the wrong hands, there's no telling the sort of tragedies that could come about. She's more interested in the period of history we've completely lost. A whole century we know nothing about, have no written record of. That's what she's really looking for."

His arm loosened as he thought about that. It was history the government didn't want anyone to find, history she lost her people over according to the records. "I'll have to talk to her more about it soon. Hawkins has already recommended I join her excavation team, so it would be good to know exactly what she's looking for."

"I have her number," sang Nami, smiling brightly at his withering stare.

"I'll see her at work."

"But the campus is so big. You can go a whole day without seeing her. It'll be easier if I give you her number," Nami reasoned. He hated to admit she was right, so he didn't.

"I can get it from Hawkins."

Nami huffed, cheeks puffing and lip stuck in an annoyed pout. "You're just being stubborn."

"Runs in the family," he chuckled.

She poked his ribs harder.

"Fine. Can you give me her number?" He relented.

She pulled from his hold with a sly wink and grin. "It's already in your phone."

"When did you - ?" He cut himself off when she snickered and went leaping down the stairs to her room. Right, his little sister was a sneaky thief who helped herself to everything.

At least this time she gave something instead of stealing.

He hoped that was all she did.

He made a mental note to check his bank account before going to bed.

* * *

 ** _A/N:_** _Sorry for the delay and generally silly chapter with no real plot to it (I blame Kid and Law), and no real Drake x Robin stuff. I will be writing a standalone piece to go in this fic's verse for Halloween, though, and I hinted a bit at the subject (for those not following my tumblr). I also wanted to make sure to at least introduce Kid in this before I write the one-shot since I will be including a lot of characters that exist, but might not make it into the main fic. Kid's obviously going to be in this fic (as yet another annoyance for Drake), so I wanted to give the basis for his place in the Halloween special._


	5. Chapter 5

_Disclaimer: I do not own One Piece or the characters, they belong to Eiichiro Oda._

* * *

 _Warming Up_

Drake hadn't wanted to admit that Nami was right… But, she was.

The whole day had flown by, filled with classes and office hours and going over the labs his teaching assistants covered for him. He had a new stack of papers to go over from his graduate students that he dove into over lunch, hiding in his office with a pastrami sandwich for two hours of endless reading and marking. Robin must have been just as busy since he didn't see her once, not even from a distance, and by the time he found a few minutes to head over to the Anthropology building, she had gone home for the night.

Luckily it was Friday, so he could call her over the weekend to discuss her research and excavation plans. Maybe they could meet up for lunch? Or coffee? He would have called that night as soon as he got home, but he was exhausted, starving, and desperately wanted to take advantage of having the house to himself that night.

Saturday morning he caught an extra hour of sleep before dragging himself out of bed around seven in the morning. He was never good at sleeping in. Military life was definitely to blame, as was his father. Growing up, when his father was in the Navy, he always woke him up near the crack of dawn to take him out for a run, followed by a huge breakfast with his mom. The rest of the day he could play, most of the time pretending to be the knight or hero that fought the bad guy, just like his father. He remembered, vaguely, shortly after Nami was born, he declared her the princess he would have to save while his father pretended to be the dragon. Those were good memories, but that was back when his father was kind and loving, not the twisted shell of a man he became after losing his wife and daughter.

After he ran off to join the criminal dregs of the world, he still woke Drake up at dawn, but it wasn't for some father-son bonding. He spent hours training Drake, strengthening him, teaching him various forms of combat that he would need know. What for, Drake never really understood, or at least he didn't want to understand. By the end of the 'workout', Drake was laid out, bruised and battered from the strikes he took every time he seemed to do one thing wrong, or any time he dared complain, or any time Barrels just felt like hitting him. There was no breakfast, no "good job, son," just aches and tears that he'd endure again the next day, if not sooner depending on how much Barrels drank that night. He missed the days of playing pretend, dreaming of growing up to be the hero his father was. At least he had Nami back.

Keeping with unbreakable habits, Drake woke early to workout every day. During the week, when he had to get to school early in the morning, he usually only ran for a half an hour on the treadmill in the den while watching the morning news. If it was a nice enough morning, and he had the extra time, he'd take to the hills around his house, run and hike over the rough trails as the sun crested the horizon.

He liked running. As his father said, it was all he was good at.

That day he had time to do more than run, and with the chilly weather he decided to head to the campus gym for a few hours. He could run a couple of miles on the indoor track and let out some steam at the punching bag.

Another trait he unfortunately picked up from his father – he found it helped to hit something from time to time. Unlike his father, he saved that aggression for punching bags, or the occasional sparring partner if he was fortunate to have one.

Donning a pair of blue running shorts and matching tank top from his Navy days, a solid mix of rock blaring from his headphones, Drake took his time as he jogged steadily around the track on the second floor. Below he could see a group of students playing basketball on one of the courts. The cardio equipment and weights sat on the far end of the gym, and a large lap pool had its own wing near the front. A room for spin class was set up between the cardio area and basketball courts on the first floor. The second floor, branching off the track, held two more rooms for classes – yoga, pilates, kickboxing, and so on – and a third, twice the size, was set up with punching bags, speed bags, and an area for sparring.

His hair fell loose, a few strands brushing around his eyes as he ran. He went without gel for his faux-hawk, and when he ran, his hair normally fell from any clip or tie he'd use to hold it back, so he rarely bothered. He didn't mind, not when his mind was elsewhere, the music pushing him at his steady pace as he focused on every long stride, the pleasant ache of his calves and hamstrings, the looseness of his shoulders as the tension of life melted away.

After a mile and a half, he was relaxed and couldn't imagine anything disturbing him… Until he felt an obnoxious tap on his arm

He glanced down to who had come onto the track as he rounded a bend by entrance. He hadn't paid the man any mind when he saw him stretching, hoped they could have one day where they didn't bother speaking to each other, but apparently that hope was in vain.

He still hoped, though.

Turning forward, he picked up the pace, signaling to Law he wasn't in the mood for banter. A minute later, he felt a hard flick to his jaw, even more obnoxious than the tap. He glared down at Law, who returned it, mouthing "Don't ignore me."

With a resigned sigh, Drake pulled out one of his earbuds. "Can't I have one day where I pretend we don't know each other?"

"No," Law snorted, ire changed into a smirk. "I can't relax if I'm not annoying you."

"Charming," Drake sighed, rolling his eyes. "I'm starting to wonder if you're stalking me."

"Don't flatter yourself." Law frowned thoughtfully for a moment, and then shrugged. "Though, if I had the time, it would be amusing to make you paranoid by following you around all day. Or maybe go into your hobby room and rearrange all your things."

He glared down at that twisted grin. "Don't touch my stuff."

"I could repaint your bedroom the gaudiest shade of hot pink I can find," Law continued. "Nami-ya would probably love it."

He could feel the tension rebuilding in his shoulders. At this rate, his run would have been pointless.

"Could you even stomach looking at that shade of pink?" Drake asked, brow cocked. "I thought you hated pink."

Law frowned. "The look on your face would be worth my own suffering," he decided after a moment. "And it's not like I sleep in there."

"Remind me to redecorate my den to include as much pink as possible." Drake smirked, a chuckle slipping out when Law glowered up at him. "I'll make sure to include flamingos. I think I saw a pink feather throw pillow at the store not long ago. It'd be perfect for the space. And Nami would probably love it."

Law's glower turned darker. "Then I'd just have to sleep in Nami-ya's room."

Drake's amusement vanished in an instant and he met Law's glare. "You can sleep in your own damn apartment."

"Your house is nicer, and at least you and your sister don't have a split personality that has attempted to murder me in my sleep."

"You need a new roommate."

"Tell me about it," Law snorted. He looked him over warily for a moment, then stunned Drake as he held a fist out to his side. "Truce?"

"Truce." Drake nodded, knocking their fists together.

They ran in silence for one lap. It was almost companionable. Then Law had to talk again.

"You run too fast," he grumbled, sounding out of breath.

"You run too slow," Drake shot back. That wasn't true, and he knew it. Law was a great runner, but it was hard keeping up with his longer strides, especially since he hadn't slowed his pace. He was still hoping to lose him.

"I run just fine," Law huffed. "Your legs are freakishly long."

"So are yours," Drake said, with brow raised and smirking. "You're just short."

Law snorted. He was far from short, at least by most standards, but six foot three is a far cry from seven foot eight. "Giant."

"Midget," he chuckled. He slowed down, though, giving Law a break. He wasn't going to shake him, obviously. The man was stubborn and if he wanted to run with Drake, then he'd push himself to his limits to do it. Now the question was: Why did he want to run with him? "What do you want?"

"What do you mean?" Law's brow rose in open confusion.

"You're being rather insistent on running with me…" Drake hinted.

"I told you, I can't relax unless I'm annoying you."

"While true, I still feel like you're up to something."

"Nami-ya's right. You're too suspicious."

"That isn't helping," Drake said, frowning down at his running partner for the day.

"I'm just trying to be a good friend and keep you company as you work-out today," Law explained. The younger man didn't believe his own words judging by the wide grin he wore.

"That is probably the biggest pile of bullshit you've ever spewed out," Drake laughed. "Surprised you didn't gag on the word friend in reference to me."

"I imagined Bepo when I said it," Law said, chuckling to himself. "But I can assure you, I don't have any ulterior motive to be here. It's my day off, and I haven't had a chance to work-out all week."

"Hospital busy?"

"Pure insanity." Law didn't lose his smile as he said that. As exhausting as his work might be, he still honestly enjoyed it. Then the smile wavered for a moment. "I lost a patient yesterday."

"Sorry to hear," Drake said somberly.

"Happens," Law shrugged. "Nothing I could have done differently to change the outcome."

"Still tough."

Law responded with a grunt, thoughts turning inward, replaying the surgery and everything he did.

"I need a break," Drake spoke up a moment later, distracting Law from his darkening thoughts with a nudge of his elbow. Law shook his head, clearing his mind, and glanced at him in question. He nodded his head toward the benches at the entrance, where he had a small towel and bottle of water set down. Law understood, and they slowed to a walk.

That pleasant burn from working out began to set into his legs. He felt heavy but full of energy. He could probably run another mile or two, but he still needed to get some hits on the punching bag in, and the doctor stretching his quads beside him could probably use the same.

"Up for sparring today?" He asked as he propped a foot on the bench and bent forward, stretching his hamstrings.

Law shrugged, picking up his foot to bend a leg up behind him. "Sure. Just a few drills, though. My jaw still clicks from the last time you threw a punch at me."

Drake stood straight and raised his arms, stretching his triceps and shoulders by bending his arm behind his head and pushing down with his elbow. Chuckling, he shot a smirk at Law. "You were supposed to block."

"You weren't supposed to hit me that hard," Law growled, not nearly as amused with the memory as Drake was.

"I apologized," Drake said with a shrug. He meant to pull his punch, at least that's the story he's going with. He hadn't been happy to wake up that morning to go to the bathroom, still half asleep, only to find Law had helped himself to his shower. That man reveled in crossing boundaries whenever he felt like it.

"Well, this is a lovely surprise," a warm, melodic voice broke into their conversation. Drake's brow rose as he turned to find Robin standing there, Nami beside her. He couldn't help it as his eyes dropped from her gentle smile to her lavender tank top. Dipping low in front, and cut short to end at the base of her ribcage, the tank top fit her snugly and showed off her curvy physique. And then there were her shorts. Dark blue fabric clung to her hips, and nothing else. He expected Nami to wear shorts like that, but Robin he'd only seen in more professional attire at work and it took a great deal of effort to drag his gaze back to her face. She either didn't notice the appraisal, or didn't care as she continued to smile. "Good morning, Drake-san," Robin greeted. She peeked around him, waving to Law. "Tora-o."

Law nodded at the girls. "What are you two doing here?"

"Yoga class," Nami chirped, and suddenly Drake needed something to drink.

"I thought you usually did pilates or kickboxing?" Law asked, coming in closer while Drake grabbed his water bottle to take a long swig.

"Robin likes yoga," his sister answered, glancing at her friend with a bright smile. "She thought I'd enjoy it, too. I figure it can't hurt, and I'm certainly flexible enough for it."

Drake was distracted from his wandering thoughts - many of which involved Robin bending and stretching in ways he hadn't imagined before - by Law's answering hum. He glanced over to see Law wearing a strangely twisted smirk as he stared at Nami. He didn't like that smirk.

Reaching over, he smacked Law hard on the back of the head.

"What the hell was that for?" Law snapped at him, growling as he rubbed his head.

"You looked like you were thinking of something that made me want to hit you," Drake responded, not bothered by his glare.

Nami snorted while Robin snickered behind her hand as the two men stared each other down.

"Your brother is quite protective of you," Robin mused with another quite chuckle.

"Needlessly," Nami huffed, rolling her eyes. She took it in good humor, though, and quickly perked up. "But hey, since we're here," she began, turning to Drake with a wide grin. "You haven't had a chance to talk to Robin yet, right?"

His eyes widened at the reminder before he relaxed and decided to ignore Law's menacing glare, looking toward Robin. Her smile had fallen, openly curious as she glanced between the siblings.

He gave her an easygoing smile. "I was planning to call you later since I didn't have time to catch you yesterday. I read your paper." She brightened back up at his explanation, and he almost didn't notice Nami grabbing Law and tugging him away to give them privacy. For now he would ignore it. At least they were standing nearby at the track's railing, leaning over as they watched – or pretended to watch – the guys playing basketball below. "I was hoping we could talk more about your research, and that excavation you have planned."

"That would be wonderful," she said, smiling again. It was an infectious smile, setting him at ease while at the same time making him almost nervous. "If everything goes through, I should have the go ahead to oversee a short dig over winter break."

"That's coming up fast," he remarked. He felt a drop of sweat trickle down from his hair, into his eye, and without thinking he reached for the hem of his shirt to wipe at his forehead. When he dropped his shirt back down, his brow rose when he caught Robin's gaze no longer on his face, firmly glued to his abs, but she blinked and a second later her attention was set on him as if it was nothing. "You're looking into Pluton in Alabasta, correct?" he asked, deciding not to linger on whether she may or may not have been checking him out.

"That's what I stated in the proposal," she said with a mischievous glint in her eye.

"But that's not the only thing you're searching for," he finished, chuckling quietly. "The Lost Century?"

Robin hummed. "Maybe we should meet somewhere to discuss this further," she said. Glancing to the side, he followed her gaze and frowned at Nami and Law with their heads angled just enough to watch them. "Without the audience," Robin giggled.

His frown deepened when Nami leaned over to whisper in Law's ear. The young man snorted, lips twisting in a smirk.

"Remember," Robin began quietly, "just friends."

"I'm really starting to wonder," he muttered. With a quick shake of his head, he dispelled his paranoid thoughts. "It's none of my business, anyway." Her smile was sympathetic as he focused back on the topic of conversation. "But, about meeting up – I'm free later today. Or, we can meet for coffee tomorrow?"

"I promised Nami I would spend the day with her," Robin said thoughtfully. "But coffee tomorrow works. There's a café not far from her house…"

"I know it." He nodded, smirking easily again. "Nine o'clock okay?"

"Perfect." Her smile widened and it was at that moment Nami and Law decided to rejoin them. He chose not to overthink their timing.

"Hey, Robin, we should start warming up. Class is starting soon," Nami suggested with a perfectly crafted look of innocence.

Robin nodded and began to walk by him, Nami happily linking their arms together. She stopped to spare Drake one last glance, openly letting her eyes sweep over him. His brow rose when she met his gaze again.

"No dinosaurs today?" she asked, nodding toward his outfit. His responding chuckle was met with a teasing glint, her eyes boldly dropping again. "Or maybe they're just hiding."

Despite the fact he felt his ears warming, likely turning pink at what she was insinuating, his lips still curled in a crooked grin. She wasn't wrong, and she seemed to know it by his reaction.

"Interesting," she mused.

"Okay," Nami broke in, unceremoniously pulling Robin away. "Ew. Just… Ew."

Robin let herself be dragged off, but glanced over her shoulder, laughing. There was an unspoken question in her gaze, daring him to answer. He didn't know what possessed him, but he couldn't help calling after her.

"Triceratops."

"Drake!" Nami screeched and proceeded to drag Robin faster, the other woman stifling her amusement behind her hand. She sent him a coy wink that made him chuckle to himself as he watched them go.

"I have to share Nami-ya's sentiments," Law spoke up, drawing his attention to the younger man giving him a withering look. "Ew."

Drake shrugged. "She was curious." He let his mirth go as he sent Law a hard stare. "By the way, what were you and Nami whispering about?"

Law's brow rose, amused. "Who knows?"

"Don't avoid the answer."

"Stuff."

"Law."

"Stuff about bending over." He was grinning and damn did Drake want to hit him.

"Come on," he said, wrapping an arm around Law's neck before he could get away. "Time to spar."

"I'd rather watch Nami-ya doing Downward Dog, or whatever it is," Law chuckled, prying at Drake's tightening hold. He strangled out a cough. "You're choking me."

"Good."

* * *

They settled into the room the yoga class was being held, laying their mats out on the floor and beginning their warm-up stretches. Robin had her legs spread on either side as she bent her torso forward when she caught a commotion outside the doors.

"Nami-ya!" Law called out as Drake dragged him along, arm wrapped around the young man's neck. Nami glanced up from where she was stretching, her torso angled to the side. Her brow raised in curious amusement at the pair. "Your brother is trying to murder me!"

Nami barked out a loud laugh and waved him off. "I'm sure whatever you said is deserving of it."

"Don't just laugh!" They heard Law shout back at them, only prompting Nami to practically shriek with more laughter as the pair disappeared down the hall.

"Does this happen often?" Robin asked.

Nami quelled her amusement and sat down, her legs in front of her as she grabbed her toes to stretch her calves. "Yeah. Law's apparently always enjoyed getting under Drake's skin, and when I came along, he had new material to work with. Except now," she paused to snort, "he's more likely to get hurt for it."

"So your brother shares your temperament?" She sat straight and twisted her body to the side, stretching out to grab her left foot.

Nami snorted another laugh. "Not even close. His temper's pretty mild compared to mine."

"Yet he's apparently about to commit homicide," she snickered.

"So he has his moments," Nami said. She wore a thoughtful, distant smile that left Robin curious. "He fights when he has to, not when he's angry. At most he'll let off some steam sparring with Law, but he keeps his anger in check. Even Law hasn't managed to piss him off enough to make him snap beyond that."

"Well, I hope this time he hasn't found that magic word to make Drake angry," Robin mused. "It would be a shame if our coffee date tomorrow was cut short because the police found Law's mutilated body floating down the river."

Nami stared at her, face blank and ashen white as Robin smiled. With a shake of her head, her friend let the morbid thought go. "Anyway, speaking of that… So? Coffee date?"

"Platonic," Robin reassured. "We're discussing the excavation."

"Uh-huh," Nami grunted, disbelievingly. "And it was just my imagination when I saw you checking out his abs?"

Robin plastered on a smile so wide her eyes shut, a silent warning in the otherwise friendly look. "Quite so. I was curious of his tattoo."

"Right. It's a giant X, like the Roman numeral for ten. You know, for _Diez._ " Nami rolled her eyes at the dodge, well aware of what Robin was doing. "And I'm sure you just had to broach the subject of his boxers for the same innocent curiosity."

"Well, in the short time I've known him, I realized he wouldn't be him if he didn't have dinosaurs somewhere. I didn't see any on his socks, so that left only one logical place." Robin's smile grew at the girl's loud groan.

"I'm going to have that image burned in my mind forever," Nami sighed. "Still, I hope your date goes well."

"Platonic date, Nami," Robin reminded firmly. "Just coffee and intellectual conversation. If you continue to treat it otherwise, I'll return to teasing you about your study dates with Tora-o."

Nami frowned at her, but relented with a nod. Their conversation drew to a close as the instructor came in to begin the class, but not without one last passing remark she couldn't resist making.

"I bet he has a pair with a T-Rex right on the front," Robin said with a quiet chuckle.

"Robin!" Nami shrieked, mortified as she gaped at her. "Please stop talking about my brother's underwear!"

The entire class had their attention on them now, but Robin merely snickered to herself. That should remind Nami why there was no use attempting to tease her. She'd only make her regret it.

Though, she was curious what those boxers looked like…

But for now, she'd keep that to herself.

* * *

 _ **A/N:** Just cannot resist writing hot, sweaty Drake. Not at all. And, I think I'm going to hint a lot more at LawNa as this goes along, but mainly because I decided to write that KidNa/Drobin fic that involves my crack-siblings, so for those that want Drake's reaction to Kid and Nami, you will get a ton from that one. So this fic, I might end up changing my mind on the pairing thing for Nami, but we will see._

 _But really, Law just really likes getting under Drake's skin, and if being closer to Nami does it? Well, he's not about to pass that up._

 _And yes, Law's roommate is Cavendish. Why? Because I think it's hilarious, also I broship them a lot._


End file.
